The federal response to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, with the ensuing environmental danger from toxic chemicals to the public, has been abysmal.
As I wrote a couple of days ago, the feds have left the town and the local authorities to deal with it all on their own, despite fish dying and residents feeling the effects of the chemicals. Although the train derailed on February 3, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg didn’t even comment on the wreck until Feb. 13, when he was shamed into it. Even then, he didn’t say anything that would seem to immediately be helpful to the people who were concerned in the town.
Our sister site Twitchy did a walk-through of the town to let people know what was going on there because the media coverage has not been good.
The people of the town held a public meeting Wednesday night to deal with all the concerns.
The line to get into the East Palestine town hall tonight stretches for a half mile. THOUSANDS of people are PISSED and none of them trust what the government is telling them.
Good.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 16, 2023
TWO WEEKS after the toxic train derailment in Ohio, residents are still asking, "Where's Pete Buttigieg?"
The mayor responds, "I don't know. Your guess is as good as me." pic.twitter.com/vjVrWRlyp4
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2023
“Where is Pete Buttigieg at?” one resident asked Mayor Trent Conaway.
Conaway said, “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as me.” He said Tuesday was the “first time [he had] heard anything from the White House,” nearly two weeks after the train derailment.
The company behind the train — the Norfolk Southern Railroad — said that they didn’t show up to the meeting because they were concerned about their safety. That didn’t help matters.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been able to secure some health assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help with medical costs. There has also been some financial assistance from Norfolk Southern Railroad, but the Mayor said that the people there need to be “made whole.”
“FEMA is in constant contact with the emergency operations center in East Palestine and with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. We are closely coordinating with EPA, HHS, and the CDC, who are helping to test water and air quality, and to conduct public health assessments,” FEMA spokesperson Jeremy Edwards told Fox News Digital in a statement.[….]
However, experts have cast doubt on the safety of the air to breathe and have also suggested residents shouldn’t accept the compensation offered by Norfolk Southern.
“The railroad company is responsible for this and for these people who went back to their homes,” Sil Caggiano, a local hazardous materials specialist, told Fox News on Tuesday. “Their homes should have been tested. Their homes should have been cleaned. From the onset, these people were being marginalized in an effort to mitigate this.”
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said that if the EPA administrator thinks the water is safe to drink, then he invited him to come and drink it himself.
Senator @JDVance1 in East Palestine, Ohio: "If the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people that the tap water is safe, by all means, they should be willing to drink it." pic.twitter.com/Q9GQCEnncz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2023
Gov. DeWine asked for FEMA assistance but they have now turned him down, saying it didn’t qualify as a “traditional disaster” like a hurricane or a tornado. But if it makes your home potentially unsafe and/or you are suffering the effects, how does that not qualify?
That’s the problem. The folks there just want to be assured that their concerns are answered because they’ve gotten the run around for two weeks–but the Biden administration continues to disappoint.
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